Without A Trial
by 1potterhead07
Summary: Sirius cancels his trial after he is accused of murdering his best friends and Remus wants to know why, but he is not allowed to see him. So Dumbledore goes in his place and what he reports back almost breaks him.
1. One

One

The hallways were dark, damp, and rocky. It almost appeared as a cave, but it wasn't. It was a building, cast out in the middle of the sea to conceal those who cross the law. Two guards stood near the only room where you could apparate in and out of. They were the only two humans besides the Auror, who was head of the department, in the building. All of them were apprehensively waiting for a visitor.

At half past three, a faint pop was heard in the room, and out walked a tall, skinny man, with a long beard, a crooked nose, and violet robes. "Good evening, Scrimgeour." He spoke softly.

"Good evening, Dumbledore. I do not see why you wish to speak to him. He is insane. Took him in and he was laughing and muttering 'he did it,' over and over."

"I am aware. But, there are some words I must have with him. So, if you would please, lead the way." Scrimgeour sighed and turned on his heel, taking out his wand and producing a protronus charm that followed in front of them, the two guards falling in step behind the two men. The hallways were narrow and it felt like forever before they reached a door with two symbols and the number 390 enscribed. "I will say, he didn't put up any sort of fight when he was brought in." The auror whispered skeptically. Like the man would try to do something now.

"Thank you." Dumbledore said apathetically as he watched all the charms be undone from the door. Once Scrimgeour was done running his wand up and down, preforming nonverbal spells and counterspells, the professor slide inside and cast a silencing charm, so that all conversation about to take place would not leave the room or find it's ways to Scrimgeour's ears. Before him, was a truley heartbreaking sight. It was a man who used to be tall and confident and a young _boy_, curled against the wall with his knees brought to his chest on a raged looking bed. His one wavy and beautiful hair was messy and tangled and dusty. His cleanly shaven face was wild. And worst of all, the eyes that found the professors, which were once full of mischeif, love, and hope, were now ruined by the tears, fear, lostness and insanity that replaced them. "Dumbles!" He called out, excited. His voice betraying his apperance. "Long time no see?"

"I think I had once kindly requested you called me by either just Albus or my full last name, Mr. Bla-"

"Sirius. Please." He cut the man off with a pleading tone.

"Sirius." Dumbledore affirmed. "Sirius, why did you cancel the trial. I know you are innocent. You know it. Remus knows it. We can prove it. You can take viritasirum. Have testifies. We can find the boy and make everything right."

"No. No we can't."

"I know you and the three- the two of you are Animagai."

"I can't prove my innocence without having to explain why we did it. Without telling you why three fourteen year old boys begame illegeal animagai without letting out Remus's condition. He isn't registered. He still finds jobs more easy and the whole world doesn't see just a label. I'm not tesetifying because if i told them I was an animagai, id still do prision time. And so would Remus for not registering on his condition. Then _everyone _would know about it because its _my_ trial. And someone has to be there for Harry." He looked at the professor, trying to gauge his reaction, but Dumbeldore always had an impassive face on. You only could tell how severe of an emotion he had based on how bright the twinkle in his eye was. Right now, there was none.

"I believe, Remus will not agree with you."

"I don't care."

"You and I both know Mr. Lupin will do whatever it takes to-"

"Than I need _you_ to do whatever it takes to make him believe that I deserve to rot in this hell." Sirius looked at the wall, emotion didn't seem to process through him, beause when he laughed, he truly did look insane. "You know. My whole life I was trying to convince the world I wasn't a Black. I messed up once. Played a prank. My friends almost left me. I told myself I wasn't a Black. Now this. And again, 'typical Black insanity,' 'a death eater, as dark as his name,' and you know what? As soon as I saw James laying on the stairs and Lily laying in front of the crib next to little crying Harry, I knew that was it for me. I grabbed him and ran out. When Hagrid showed, I _begged_ for me to go instead or to tag along, but he refused. That was my one chance. If I was with you, all of this would have been avoided and everyone would be innocent. But no one can be. We all have our skeletons. And I'm willing to be the scapegoat. One life for six." Tears were streaming down his face. "It's all very ironic. Worked out perfectly for the bastard." Dumbledore sighed, his eyes not leaving the boy, who had just turned twenty-two not long ago.

"Remus, he is exceptionaly smart. He will know what you are doing, and I'm not sure anyone can convince him otherwise." Sirius continued to gaze at the wall. "He might even want to come and talk to you himself.

"Tell him..." A tear rolled down his cheek. "Tell him that I said it's sad that blood will forever be thicker than water. Convince him that after my biological family captured me and brought me back on that mission, that it changed me. I went insane. I once told him that I was scared of becoming my family. So tell him I said this _exactly. _Tell him : You know, I was once scared of becoming like my father or mother that I choose to look past major things. They've showed me that there's nothing to be scared of when you work for The Dark Lord, for he always comes through. Then say I laughed insanley or something."

"Sirius-"

"Now please, leave, Albus." The professor stood up sadly with a nod and went out of the tiny cell.

"I am sorry this has happened to you. You deserve so much better." Sirius gave him a watery smile and called after him something about 'Minnie' and 'milk,' but he didn't hear it. Scrimgeour was already slamming the door closed.


	2. Two

"So?" The man asked impatiently, standing up. "What was his reasoning."

"It appears that... Mr. Black… did commit the crime." Dumbledore gazed down at the sweet boy in front of him. He never did have that charming child's feel to him. From a young age, he had to grow up very quickly. His appearance was always tired, though when he was with James, Peter, and Sirius, there was confidence in his step. Now, without them, he looked just as he always had, if not just wearier. The professor motioned him to sit back in the chair and walked around behind his desk, sitting in his own.

"That's - that's not possible. Sirius would never do that, and you know it. We both know it. If we just find Pettigrew-." Dumbledore held up a hand to silence him, and old habits fell back into place.

"Mr. Black said that he did commit the crime. Pettigrew was innocent. I'm sorry, Remus."

"I don't believe you. He must be in there for a reason. He's probably protecting me, and I won't have it,Dumble-"

"He said that you would probably be sitting here saying these things." The professor interjected. "And he told me to tell you that when you are, I am to tell you 'You know, I was once scared of becoming like my father or mother that I choose to look past major things. They've showed me that there's nothing to be scared of when you work for The Dark Lord, for he always comes through. You know, it's sad. Blood will forever be thicker than water.' "

"Wait. He said that _exactly_?" Remus asked suspiciously.

"Yes. Does it have sentimental value?" Dumbledore pried with a calm demeanor, but Remus wasn't listening. He was remembering a conversation that he and Sirius had had when they were in second year. It was right after they found out Remus was a werewolf. The other two boys were downstairs playing Exploding Snap._"You still seemed so surprised." Sirius had chuckled._

_"You don't hate me."_

_"Why would we? We're all family."_

_"I just- it's – I don't know. I mean."_ Remus sighed and closed his book, properly looking at Sirius. _"I knew you would work it out, I just always assumed you would not be my friends after, but here you are."_

_"The second James knew I was a Black, I figured he would hate me. After all, it's not like I led with it. He figured it out at Sorting. And he was still my friend."_

_"Werewolves and The Most Ancient and Noble House of Black are not the same things."_

_"They are to those who are good. Well. Not like that. Just. Well you know. Blood is thicker than water." _He commented, looking at Remus's shoulder where his bite was._ "An inbred child is all blood. Awerewolfis only attached by a bite scar." _He sighed and fell back into his pillow, looking at the ceiling. _"You know, I'm so terrified of ever becoming anything close to my parents, what if that is what drives me there by accident?"_ The boys looked at each other.

_"The full quote, believe it or not, is 'the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb."_

_"Well, in that case, I'm going to go make a blood pact withJamesie." _Remus sighed exasperatedly and they were quiet for a moment. _"I really like the full quote."_

_"Yeah, me too."_

_"Still. The general population only knows 'blood is thicker than water.' That means to everyone else that's all that matters, right? Maybe because of that, the world will _always_ only see it that way. No matter what you do, blood will always be thicker than water. Does that mean it makes no difference knowing?"_

_"That just turned really sad,"_ Remus said with a chuckle._ "Yeah. I guess you're right. But it's still those that do know is what matters. They see it fully and don't judge by your blood or appearance or anything. Even if the world sees you one-way, all that matters is the people who care about you. Right?"_

_"Yeah."_

"Mr. Lupin?"

"Yes. Yes, it does."

"Do you understand then?"

"Yes." He said plainly as a tear rolled down his cheek. The general population wasn't going to go and change what they think, no matter who says what. He's a Black. He's evil. Even if they did fight it, they wouldn't necessarily win. All they would do is throw Remus in prison and keep Sirius there. He was an illegalanimagaiand he was an unregistered werewolf. Peter would still have gotten away. There was no point in pursuing it. But all Sirius needed to know what that Remus knew and didn't hate him. That's exactly why he said it like that. "Yes, I do."


End file.
